Former World U23 Time Trial Champion Vittoria Guazzini (FDJ-SUEZ) has claimed the opening stage of the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées.
Recently fourth and third in sprints in the Volta a Catalunya Femenina, the young Italian rider was clearly the fastest in the group of 13 that disputed the finish of a rolling 129-kilometre day’s racing between Goudon and Lourdes.
Second was Australia’s Josie Talbot (Cofidis Women) with Marcela Prieto (BMC-Patobike) in third.
Article continues belowAccording to Cyclism'actu, Cofidis Women were amongst the key protagonists of the day, as Morgane Coston pushed on early and was only caught around 12 kilometres from the line.The rolling terrain and fast pace all day shattered the peloton, leaving some two dozen riders ahead in the final hour and allowing numerous late breakaways to form.
Three attackers tried a move with some three kilometres to go, with Prieto one of their number and staying out ahead to fight for the sprint. However, a long sprint from Guazzini saw her come past Prieto and fend off Talbot by a comfortable margin for the win - her second of the year after a triumph in March in very different territory, on the Belgian cobbled Classic of Le Samyn des Dames.
Results
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'No reason to panic' – Remco Evenepoel drops down Volta a Catalunya standings as Florian Lipowitz closes in on podium
Belgian says 'I've felt worse two days after a fall' as tactics favour his German teammate -
'Today I lost a life for sure' - Tom Pidcock 'OK' after crashing into a ravine in the Volta a Catalunya out of sight of race
'I was far from the road and nobody knew I was there,' says Briton, bolstering UCI case for GPS tracking -
'I gave up, actually, because they were so close' – Mathieu van der Poel made to look human despite completing E3 Saxo Classic hat-trick with 'one of my best efforts'
Dutchman talks through 63km solo win after chasing quartet fumbled the catch in the final kilometres of a dramatic edition -
'It's not up to us' or 'there is no more time to gamble'? How big teams in the peloton failed to chase down Mathieu van der Poel in E3 Saxo Classic
The peloton was at one point only 30 seconds behind solo Dutchman, with numbers for many teams, but directors from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Lidl-Trek disagree on where chasing responsibility lies
